Caribou, “Honey.”

With 10 albums and three monikers, Dan Snaith has accomplished a lot, and he continues to show how much music he still has up his sleeve. Honey, his eighth album with electro-pop project Caribou, meets at the crossroads with dance project Daphni. Honey, It’s chock-full of vocal heavy hitters that can hold their own on the dance floor.

On his first album since 2020’s Suddenly, Snaith had some help creating the sounds of the vocals themselves; he manipulated them with AI. That opened up his range, allowing him to sing with female, robotic and other voices. The AI magic paid off. The catchy vocal hooks and enchanting lyrics add extra layers to these dance tracks, while still providing room for the driving beats and rolling synths to keep people moving.

You can hear it on album opener “Broke My Heart,” which switches off between tight robotic vocals in the hook and a whispered feminine vocals in the verses. The song shows that despite the name, Honey is somewhat bittersweet. The jumpy synth chords, fast beat and vocals recall KNOWER, but the wobbling sub-bass gives it away.

The title track plants its feet firmly in house music. The short vocal riffs, heavy bass and emphasis on the beat suit dancing well, and Honey is much more of a dance album  than any other of Caribou’s previous releases.

“Volume” samples MARRS jock jam classic “Pump Up the Volume” and brings more of balanced mix of pop along with Snaith’s dance production. A ping-ponging chime loop accompanies the beat on this one, alongside classic house vocal hooks. The emotion-fueled feminine vocals inject the pop and create a nice segue into the next one. “Do Without You” blends Snaith’s AI vocals seamlessly with a mix of synthetic sounds. This vocal-heavy dance track addresses feelings of not being heard and the realization of having to move on.

One of the heavy hitters on Honey is “Come Find Me.” Its synth washes, lo-fi vocals, heavy beat and catchiness make it easy to get lost in and will find a way into your subconscious. The euphoric chord progression ties it all together.

At the halfway point, “August 20/24” is an interesting interlude of glitchy sounds and robotic vocals. These make it feel like a TV channel struggling to keep clear reception. This leads smoothly into “Dear Life.” The latter doesn’t feature many lyrics, but the high, airy vocalizations keep it very much in the electro-pop realm.

“Over Now” is a laidback synthwave number with airy vocals and a four-on-the-floor beat that fills it with energy. The tone is thoughtful and a little hurt. “Campfire” continues in the same direction but with a melancholic guitar melody that reflects the pain in the lyrics to a much greater degree. This leads into a brass synth and a swell of electronic sounds representing the clashing emotions of a broken heart.

The funky and exciting “Climbing” uplifts the album after these reflective tracks. Caribou fills the dance floor with it’s big, warm sound. The fast melody captures the feeling of ascent and also signals that Honey is approaching its end. There are a couple of heavy drops, but the fat bass line keeps this track moving forward.

“Only You,” about fixation when no one else will do, features plucky synth notes and reflective lyrics. It slowly builds, then slowly recedes before building up again. The sound is smooth at the outset, as if full of hope, but takes on an oppressive tone by the end.

A snappy beat and another build-up mark album closer “Got To Change.” This build is more euphoric, with  steady kick drum strikes that hold up the high chords and mess of electronic sounds until they eventually all wash out. It sends Honey out on a hopeful note. The album contains a lot more emotion than a lot of electronic music. Caribou blends this story of ups and downs. And it’ll probably be even better experienced in person.